Sowing and Sewing

Hello, and welcome back to our small corner.

Why is it that every year at seed sowing time, I get this crazy notion that this is the year that the seeds won't grow and, therefore, I should have a few more, just in case? 

Well, this week, I have been pricking out all the seeds that have grown this year. Amazingly, they all germinated again!

Continuing the theme of sowing, I finally finished sewing this cross stitch. I enjoyed the random nature of the design and the bright colours I used. Although I generally agree with the sentiments of this design - 'Happiness is not by chance but by choice'- life often throws happiness at us in unexpected ways, too.

Last week, on Tuesday, 23rd April, it was St George's Day. He is the patron saint of England. While I did not have time to add more to the twig tree, I made some jam tarts and scones instead. The scones were a basic fruit recipe, but I'm pleased with how they turned out. 

As usual, I doubt they will stay around for long in this small corner. 

Saint George's Day is also Shakespeare Day. As D and I have been reading some of his plays and sonnets this year, we continued our Shakespeare journey by reading Richard II and watching the play on TV. We are still very much enjoying the plays.

Next week, D and I will begin the first part of our guided tour around our dollhouse, and we hope you will join us.

We look forward to seeing you there.

Have a good week!

B and D x

Queen of Hearts

Hello everyone. How has your week been?

In our small corner, last week was a half-term holiday from work for D, and we had a fun week together.

As we celebrated St Valentine's Day this week, we had a ready-made theme for the first part of the week. After D's very yummy heart cake, she made red velvet brownies from her favourite cookbook. Only three pieces are left now, which is a miracle, and they will be gone by the end of the day!

While the flour, sugar and butter were still close to hand, D also made some shortbread for us to munch. We still had some of the red fondant icing from her cake and used this to cut out hearts to decorate the tops of the shortbread. Hence, this week's blog title is 'Queen of Hearts'.

Continuing the theme of love, I made some small felt envelopes with added hearts to decorate the twiggy branched tree in our living room. They have joined the felt and fabric hearts I made last year.

As you can see, I have made more progress on the cross-stitch project, but I'm still keeping the design under wraps for now.

D and I have been continuing our reading of Shakespeare plays, have almost finished Henry VI Part 2, and are ready to watch the rest of the 'Hollow Crown' film version. 

While we had a lot of fun together this week, we also met up with our friends. I had lunch with my best friend from school, and we had a lovely chatty time together. 

Look what D got up to—afternoon tea with her friend. There was no doubt lots of chatting there as well as the tea and cake!

We both wish you all a lovely week ahead and the weather is kind to us all.

Take care.

B and D 

xx

Anyone For Tea?

Hello to all our friends.

As you have probably realised by now, D and I enjoy doing many things together, and we wanted to make 2024 a year when we returned to spending more time reading. We discussed some of the books we had read at school, and of course, Shakespeare came up in the conversation. 

Although we read several of Shakespeare's plays in school, it was never for pleasure. We wondered if we would feel differently now, so we have made a start on our first play, Henry VI Part 1. 

To help us with this, D found 'The Hollow Crown' film series based on some of Shakespeare's historical plays. While it is not the same as seeing a live performance, it gives us a better understanding of these plays.

How many plays can we read this year? I enjoyed this first play and look forward to the next one. 

And on starting other new tasks, I finished another project I hinted at last week.

A kernel of an idea had been swirling around in my brain for nearly two years: a coaster bought on one of our short breaks, and I wanted to do something special with it.

During the past few weeks, D and I have been reorganizing things in the kitchen, including the location of the kettle and hot drinks, which led to starting this project.

I needed a frame with some depth to hold the items, and this box frame was perfect. After giving it a quick coat of medium oak varnish, I used background papers from my card stash and a few teabags from the tea caddy. D wrote the message to add a little humour to the piece before we added the final touch: the teaspoon!

Here is the display in its new home next to the kettle.

We also have more good news about the kittens and cats my son and his fiancée foster.

Dolly and Quincey were the first two cats my son and his fiancée fostered. They have been with them for about a year and are now three years old. This week, the cats have found a new forever home together.

On the same day, a new tiny kitten joined the fostering family. 

Meet Eddie. He is a tiny ginger ball of fluffy mischief, much like Toby.

Three weeks into 2024 and both D and I are looking forward to the rest of the year. We hope that you will have a great week and stay safe whatever your plans are.

                                     B and D x